Contents

• Foreword / Mercy Amba Oduyoye
• The controversy
• What is female circumcision?
• What is at stake?
• The centrality of religion
• Organization of the book
• Religion and the social behavior of Kenyans
• The social structure of Kenyan communities
• The social status of women
• Female circumcision in Kenya: an overview
• Religion and the social behavior
• Religions in Kenya
• The debate over female circumcision
• The debate over terminology
• Reasons for female circumcision
• The functioning of patriarchal systems
• Women’s sexuality and female circumcision
• Opposition to female circumcision
• The insider/outsider conflict
• Strategies to combat female circumcision
• Sexuality, gender, and religion in Kenya
• Gender and sexuality
• The control of sexuality
• Religion and female sexuality
• Summary
• Religion and female circumcision
• The religious origins of female circumcision
• How religion sanctions female circumcision
• How indigenous beliefs determine female circumcision
• Islam and female circumcision
• Christianity and female circumcision
• Transforming attitudes toward female circumcision
• The reality of social change in Kenya
• Religion as liberative
• African feminist hermeneutics
• Religious sources for transformation: a brief illustration
• Conclusion and recommendations